Victorious Murray unable to swear by curse-curbing pledge

(Advisory: Please note that this story contains strong language in paragraph eight.)

By Will Swanton

BRISBANE (Reuters) - Andy Murray has succeeded in reaching the semi-finals of the Brisbane International but the U.S. Open champion has fallen short in a pledge to curb his habit of swearing on court.

Moreover, he has toned down the promise itself.

Last month, the Briton said he wanted to clean up his act after repeated warnings for unsavory language, but audible obscenities have been uttered in his opening matches in Brisbane against Australia's John Millman and Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.

Spectators at Pat Rafter Arena have clearly heard Murray barking the occasional swear word, something the world number three has done throughout his career to let off steam when dissatisfied with his own performance.

Murray defeated Istomin 6-4 7-6 on Friday to book a semi-final against Japan's Kei Nishikori, who trumped Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov by an identical scoreline.

The other semi-final on Saturday will feature Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov against Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.